The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia (RGA) has called for a fundamental reset of national water policy, urging the independent review of the Water Act 2007 to move beyond a fixation on water recovery and focus on delivering genuine environmental outcomes while protecting food production, regional communities and Australia's food security.
RGA President Justin Sutherland said rice growers had spent decades adapting to water reform and should not continue to be treated as the answer to every environmental challenge facing the Murray-Darling Basin.
"Rice growers have done more than their fair share when it comes to water reform," Mr Sutherland said.
"Our industry has adapted, invested in water efficiency and continued producing food despite significant reductions in water availability and ongoing policy uncertainty."
"The reality is that taking more water from productive agriculture is becoming harder to justify when many of the Basin's environmental challenges cannot be solved through water recovery."
The RGA said future water policy must place greater emphasis on addressing the underlying causes of environmental decline, including poor water quality, invasive species, habitat degradation, river connectivity and river operations.
"There are practical measures that can deliver meaningful environmental benefits without inflicting further damage on regional economies, local businesses and food production."
RGA Executive Director Perin Davey said the review must properly acknowledge the economic and social consequences that water reform has had on Basin communities over the past two decades.
"Southern Basin communities have already delivered enormous volumes of water for environmental outcomes and have carried a significant share of the burden associated with water reform," Ms Davey said.
"Communities have lost productive capacity, jobs, investment and population. Those impacts cannot continue to be treated as secondary considerations in water policy."
Ms Davey said the Water Act should provide stronger recognition of socio-economic outcomes and require decision-makers to fully consider the cumulative impacts of water policy on regional Australia.
"Every major water management decision should be assessed against three tests: environmental benefit, community impact and agricultural productivity," she said.
"Australia's food and fibre producers deserve confidence that decisions affecting their future are based on robust science, transparent evidence and a fair assessment of all consequences."
The Water Act review should be aligned with broader water reform processes currently underway to ensure future policy is coherent, evidence-based and focused on long-term outcomes.
Mr Sutherland said the review represented a critical opportunity to rebuild trust with regional communities and recognise the contribution irrigated agriculture makes to both the environment and the national economy.
"The communities producing Australia's food and fibre are also the communities caring for our rivers and landscapes," he said.
"Enough water has already been recovered from productive use. The next chapter of Basin reform must focus on getting better outcomes from the water already held for the environment, rather than continually targeting agricultural production."
"This review must deliver balanced policy, genuine accountability and practical solutions that support healthy rivers, strong regional communities and a secure future for Australian agriculture."
